The Baltimore Ravens don’t exactly have an extensive history of top-tier wide receivers. For the majority of the franchise’s relatively brief history, the wide receiver position has arguably been the Achilles heel of the entire team.
In fact, in their 25 years of existence, only seven wide receivers have ever reached the 1,000-yard mark in a season and it’s only been done a total of 12 times. That could be set to change, however, in Week 18.
Marquise Brown currently sits at 981 yards through 17 weeks, and with one game left to play, he’s just 19 yards away from becoming the first Ravens wide receiver since Mike Wallace in 2016 to hit that 1,000-yard milestone.
Of course, critics will point to the extra 17th game and question the legitimacy of such an achievement. But that argument holds less weight when you consider the fact that Brown was forced to miss a game earlier in the year due to injury.
Sunday will mark Brown’s 16th game of the season providing proof that he didn’t need an extra 17th-game played to reach that milestone. That is, of course, if he actually gets there.
Marquise Brown can make a little Ravens history against the Steelers
Brown wouldn’t be the first Ravens player to hit a major receiving milestone this season. Just this past weekend, tight end Mark Andrews officially set a new franchise record for the most receiving yards in a season by any player.
With an obviously career-best 1,276 yards entering Week 18, Andrews will look to add to his record. Meanwhile, Brown will be hoping to end a near-half-decade-long drought of 1,000-yard wide receivers in Baltimore.
It’s been an up-and-down season for Brown, to say the least. After a blazing hot start that saw him record six touchdowns in his first seven games, Brown hasn’t caught a touchdown since. He hasn’t gone for over 100 yards since Week 19 and hasn’t even surpassed 50 yards since Week 13.
That said, the 1,000-yard mark is well within reach and Brown could finish what has been a career year strong with a standout performance on Sunday.